It's Kids Baseball!

My son plays baseball, Little League Baseball, this is the third year of the Southeast Volusia Little League (SEVLL), they are based in Edgewater at Hawks Park. They have a great group of volunteers that make it possible for our local children to play Little League Baseball.

Sounds great right? My son has been involved in competitive sports since he was 4. I have served on the board of a rec sports league in another state. I am always amazed by some of the things I hear at the games.

Parents are the best. Most parents are really good, they encourage the kids, cheer for both teams and generally make it a positive experience. But there are always a couple bad apples, it never fails, you get parents who don't like the coach, their kid does not play enough, they think the umps are lousy..blah, blah, blah......

This weekend I observed one coach being berated by a parent, he was pointing in his face, he was just plain abusive about the amount of playing time his child got. A mother of a child on the winning team sat right behind the backstop laughing about the losing team. Wow what a great example she is setting for her children. This is not the first time I have seen things like this and I am always amazed. This morning I heard one of our board members car was vandalized with dead fish. Are you kidding me?

This is Little League folks, kids baseball. These coaches and board members are VOLUNTEERS. VOLUNTEERS, let me say it again in case you missed it the first time. They are not getting paid to spend countless hours coaching your kids, some (most) of the kids they coach are not exactly major league material but they make the best of it and everyone plays. It is supposed to be fun. FUN. FUN. One more time FUN.

Everyone is doing the best they can and I am certain that not one of the whiners and complainers can do a better job. In fact, I suggest that those spending their time being negative and sometimes just mean get out there and volunteer to help, get on the board, coach a team. Do something positive.

The item below appears on the website of Harrisburg Youth Sports Association and Odell Rec Sports Association in North Carolina.

I'm just a volunteer.........." "I'm just one of those unpaid people who have spent many hours making sure your child has a safe, competitive place to play. I've sacrificed time with my own family to insure you can have quality time with yours. When your child shows up to play, I'm the one that made sure everything was ready. When you go home, I am the one who cleans up after you. I'm the one that organized the facilities, the equipment, the officials, your coaches and teammates, the parties, and the trophies. I cannot control the weather, the outcome of games, or the actions of individuals, yet I take the blame for everything that goes wrong. My job would not be so difficult if more people decided to volunteer. We need more hands, good ideas, strong workers, and leaders with vision. Instead of pointing out our problems, become part of the solution and volunteer today! " ~ Michael Hart, HYA

Turn Off That Phone

My daughter informed me this morning she and one other girl are the only ones in her class that do not have cell phones.

I said to myself, "Self, she is 9 and in fourth grade, I know where she is and who she is with at all times, why in the world would she need a cell phone?"

Oh what, she might miss an important call while she is playing with her Barbies or on Webkinz, no, but because all the other kids have them. Well, this nine year old will be going a little longer without being "like all the other kids." And now to sum up her reaction....."Mom, you are ruining my life!" I wonder if she will suffer permanent damage?

Cosmo

So I am sitting around on Saturday night watching Shark Swarm on Hallmark Channel. I am sure my friends over at the Chum Slick are disturbed by this movie. It just goes to show what an exciting life I have.

Anyway I took a gander at a free magazine I got today courtesy of Ann Crabs and her freebies. It happens to be Cosmopolitan, I am sure at some point we have all read this magazine at least once. I have not read it since college so more than 20 years. Talk about ridiculous, shallow and who cares stupid stuff. There is a section called the "Man Manual", really I am not kidding. Some of this months features in the Man Manual are:

"What His Hair Says About Him" - I am usually happy if I meet a man that has hair. It does not need to say anything about him, it just needs to be on his head.

"What His Shower Style Reveals" - you are kidding me right? His shower style?? Just so he takes a shower, who the heck cares???

But this is my favorite-"Surprising things that turn him off" - these include - wearing overly revealing clothing and being kinky in bed. YEA RIGHT.

Now if and only if you get past the MAN MANUAL, the next section is "5 Traits a GUY SHOULD HAVE BEFORE YOU GET SERIOUS" these are the best, all you women out there who have been married more than 5 minutes or are divorced from idiots will love this.

1. He knows what he wants. - For dinner maybe.....
2. He has a sunny outlook. - Uh huh sure.
3. He is open to changing for you. - I am rolling on the floor.
4. He's still a little mysterious. - There are too many comments I could make here.
5. He's responsible with money. - If he has a job be happy.

Then we have the next article, "Are you crazy enough in bed?" OK what happened to those surprising things that turn him off( you know overly kinky). Where do these people come from??

I could go on and give you some more idiotic examples from this magazine, but you get the idea.

Who Needs Diet & Exercise?

This is an ad from the 30's. All this time I thought I had to eat less and exercise more and all I really needed was a tapeworm...who knew? I am thinking that as a side business I should start marketing this. There is money to be made in tapeworms!

Too Old For Barbie?

Today my 9 year old daughter brought me a bag full of Barbie's. Something like 20 Barbie's. Most were in good shape, hair combed, dressed, accessorized nicely. There was one headless Barbie, and one torso Barbie who had unfortunately lost her arms and legs, but most were quite lovely.

Anyway, she informed me that I could give them away on Freecycle. I was shocked and just stared at her. She said, "Mommy, don't you think it is weird that I am 9 and still like to play with Barbie's."

WHAT?????? Are you kidding me????

So I told her I did not think it was weird that she should play with them as long as it was fun. She informed me that it was fun but she was "too old."

So, I let it go and told her to go find all the clothes and shoes and stuff to give away too. She went away and came back a few minutes later and asked me if I had listed them yet. I told her no, she said, can I think about it?

OF COURSE YOU CAN!!! I told her don't be in a hurry, you are never to old to play, come back when you are ready and we will list them.

Last I looked she was serving dinner to 18 perfectly dressed Barbies, one headless Barbie and one torso Barbie.

Hopefully the crisis has passed and my baby is not going to grow out of Barbie today!

Things That Make You Say HUH?

So the news this week as been full of are you kidding me moments.....



Just a few to note:



Little Caylee Anthony, whose disapearance and probable murder is getting national attention. What in the world is her grandmother thinking? Even her husband is trying to get her to shut up. She is claiming that the decomp smell that cadaver dogs identified is from an old piece of pizza. I am fairly certain that these dogs do not confuse pizza with human remains. She has made a variety of other outrageous statements all caught forever by the news media, including not remembering when she saw this child last.....I am pretty sure if one of my kids was not around for 4 or 5 weeks my parents would remember when last they saw them and they would be flipping their lids to find out where they were...... It is very sad.

Barack Obama acting like he is already president. As frightening as that is....it is more ridiculous to think that the only choices we have to lead this country are him or John McCain. That is an are you kidding me all by itself.

But my favorite ridiculous moment came this week while browsing in The Big Bamboo on Flagler Ave. I overheard a woman telling her husband that they needed to find a new place to vacation because of our "dangerous, shark infested waters". He said to her, "Honey, you don't swim", she looked at him strangely and said "well if I did I would be afraid to get bit"........ My kids were with me and they were looking at me waiting, just waiting for me to comment., they know me so well. I waited til we got in the car and before I could even say anything, they both said at once...."ARE YOU KIDDING ME???"